


Solarbeam to my Heart

by crystalklances



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crush at First Sight, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Smitten Keith (Voltron), Solarpunk, keith is a taxi pilot, lance is a dressmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 13:19:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13659807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalklances/pseuds/crystalklances
Summary: Keith is a taxi pilot in the lovely city of Altea. One day, he meets a new dressmaker in his favorite boutique, who immediately catches his eyes.





	Solarbeam to my Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a Valentine's Day gift exchange over on tumblr. Somehow, I had never heard of the solarpunk trope before I looked at the list of my giftee's likes, but once I had the chance to look it up, I was immediately in love! I hope I was able to show the elements well without making the story weird. And, of course, there is a touch of Smitten Keith, because this is me after all, ahaha.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this setting, so I hope you enjoy it, too!

The alarm rings through the room, the sound piercing through Keith’s ears and pulling him into consciousness. Keith pointedly keeps his eyes closed until the sound comes to a stop, then opens them with a sigh. The sun is already shining in through the window, throwing colored reflections of the moon-and-stars-pattern onto the floor. Like every house in the city, Keith’s place is supplied with stained glass solar panels to generate electricity.

Keith stretches his entire body as long as he can, arms reaching above his head, feeling the relaxation wander through all his muscles. Then, he sits up, his feet touching the ground, and gets up, stretching his arms all the way back to his shoulder blades once more with the movement. He disconnects his phone from the turquoise crystal on the nightstand that serves as a charger before he makes his way out of the bedroom.

In the hallway, he walks past Red. He smiles and bends down to give the cat a brief scratch behind the ears in greeting. The cat gives a blink in acknowledgement before he walks off to the living room. Keith watches him with a chuckle before he continues on.

Once he’s in his small kitchen, he prepares the coffee maker and tosses some bread into the toaster. He leans against the counter and closes his eyes, taking in the gurgling of the coffee brewing, breathing in the rich, strong aroma of the high-quality beans he bought from the small roast house downtown.

When both the coffee and toast are done, he grabs the butter from the fridge to butter the toast on a plate, then fills the coffee into a mug. He sits down at the small bar in his kitchen, looking out through the pastel-colored glass of the window as he has his breakfast. He eats as slowly as he can without running behind time. When he’s done, he puts the dishes next to the sink before he walks into the bathroom for a quick shower. He dries off, dries his hair, gets ready for the day and gets dressed in his work uniform. He packs his things and makes sure that Red has enough water and food.

Finally, Keith leaves the house and locks behind himself.

He could take his hoverbike, but Keith always enjoys walking to work. After all, he’s going to spend most of the time working operating airborne vehicles. He wonders which airship he’s going to pilot today.

Keith takes in the bustling of the streets as he makes his way to his workplace. The streets are built of solar panels to generate enough electricity for the city and its surroundings. All around, there are crystals to serve as chargers for the citizens, be it for mobile devices or bicycles. On each balcony and on rooftops throughout the city, there are plants, growing openly or in small greenhouses, cared for by the house owners and the community. Keith, as well, has a small garden like that. In the heart of the city, reaching high into the sky, stands the castle with its majestic stained glass windows, as well as the giant clock and wind mill on the highest tower. The university, as well, has a mill on its highest point, to make use of the strong winds of the area to help power its tech and research and help supply the hospital at all times.

Lining the streets throughout are shops, small businesses of all kinds. A lot of them are independent craftspeople and artisans. The people love spending their wages on pretty things, useful things crafted with love, supporting each other in endless cycles of give and take. Sometimes, people trade in goods or with favors, though not because of poverty, but simply to defy the money system.

Keith stops in front of a tailor’s shop a street over from his employer, looking through the display window. He should go in the next time he’s free; he feels like getting some new additions for his wardrobe. While he’s admiring some leather jackets—he loves wearing those in his free time in contrast to the more dapper attire for his work—, his gaze ends up wandering to a mannequin near the window, where a dressmaker is adjusting a garment. Keith’s breath catches in his throat.

It’s a young man, probably around Keith’s age, with brown skin and short, curly brown hair. He’s wearing casual, but elegant clothes that hug his form nicely, and a pin cushion around his left wrist that he’s working with. Keith takes note that the cushion is shaped like a cat. It’s a silly detail, but it’s _cute_ , just like the young man himself, who is sticking his tongue out a little in focus. Keith has been to this boutique many times before, but he doesn’t recall seeing this young dressmaker there in all this time. If he had, surely he would remember.

He doesn’t notice that he’s gaping until he catches his reflection on the glass. Hastily, he closes his mouth. It’s in that moment that the young man looks up and their eyes meet. Keith gulps.

 _Blue_.

Keith is looking into the most blue eyes he has ever seen. He wishes he could see them from close-up and without a window in between. He feels like he could drown in their depths, feels like he’s falling through the skies.

Instead, he takes a sharp turn and steps away. He doesn’t know that the young man was equally fascinated, and is even a bit disappointed at Keith’s sudden departure as he turns back to his work.

The remaining distance to his destination is short, but Keith’s heart is beating wildly in his chest, as if he’s running a marathon. He has to take a few deep breaths before he walks into the company building. As a pilot, he can’t afford being distracted just because he saw a cute face that made his heart go wild at first sight.

Finally, he steps inside the _AirBlades of Marmora_ headquarters. A punny name, for a taxi and public transport service working with airborne vehicles rather than cars, to help make sure that pedestrians and people on bicycles have safe traffic. Keith is still young, but he’s one of the best pilots of the company. He takes great pride in his abilities. 

Keith clocks in, then walks to the lounge area for employees. As an on-demand pilot rather than operating airbuses on a schedule, he can spend his waiting time sitting and relaxing until he receives a customer. Whenever he doesn’t receive a new customer to pick up while he’s on the go, as well, he’ll return to the headquarters. It’s not too bad, because he can chat with his colleagues and have drinks and snacks. Sometimes, there are visits from Hunk—who helps take care of maintenance for all ships—and Pidge—who helps out with IT at times.

Of course, it doesn’t take too long for the first transport request to pop up on his phone, so he takes off. Soon, thoughts about the cute dressmaker fall to the back of Keith’s mind.

 

In the days following after, Keith stops at the boutique to gaze at the displayed items as he often does. However, now, he also tries to seek the young dressmaker with his eyes. He’s always bustling about, preparing things, talking to his colleagues, attending customers. Whenever their eyes meet through the window, Keith will hold the gaze of those blue eyes for a moment, until he inevitably walks away, off to work, or back home.

One time, a couple of days in, the young man is standing by the window, as if he was waiting. When he spots Keith, he smiles and waves. Keith is stunned in place for a good second. The smile falters, blue eyes seem to lose their shine. Hastily, Keith raises his arm to wave back, lips helplessly tugging up in a weak smile. The young dressmaker beams. Keith walks onwards, heart beating fast and butterflies performing risky maneuvers all over his stomach.

The next Saturday, Keith finally has a chance to step in and buy new clothes. Upon entering, the owner of the boutique, a kind, motherly woman, greets him with a warm smile. Keith explains which garments he’s interested in, and she leads him to one of the fitting rooms. Keith is always glad when she’s the one to attend him; her warm nature makes it easy to feel welcome and comfortable. Sometimes, he wonders what life would be like if he had a mother like this. But of course, he would never know, because his mother had left when he was a small child.

As always, there’s idle conversation while the head seamstress fits the garments to Keith’s figure.

Eventually, because Keith can’t hold back his curiosity he asks, “Who’s the new dressmaker?” He hopes his tone is as casual as possible. When he receives a puzzled gaze, he adds, “The young man with the cat-shaped pin cushion. I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“Oh!” The woman laughs heartily. “That’s my youngest boy, Lance! He’s always loved helping out ever since he was a kid, but in the past years, he was able to study fashion design and gain experience all over the country. It’s only recently that he came back home, with all kinds of new skills and a million ideas. We’re so proud of him.”

 _Lance_.

Keith lets the name ring in his mind. He wants to speak it out loud, taste it on his tongue. But that would be a weird thing to do right now.

As she’s sticking pins into the fabric over Keith’s ribs, the woman continues, “Oh, he’ll be _so mad_ when he comes back from his errands later and hears that you’ve been here, Keith. Practically all week, he’s been raving about ‘that handsome guy always stopping by the window.’”

“He—he did?”

“Oh, yes. He’s practically been _dying_ for you to come in so he can have a chance to chat.”

“Oh, uh, well, maybe he’s in luck next time,” Keith says dumbly.

He doesn’t know how to feel about the idea of his kinda-maybe-possibly crush being the one to fit garments on him. That would be a way to get to know each other for sure.

The conversation goes on, back to different topics; how work has been for Keith lately, about town, about pets. When the fitting is done and Keith receives the slip of paper to pick his clothes up during the week, Lance isn’t around the shop. Keith tries not to feel disappointed on the walk to the weekly grocery market to buy fresh meat for dinner.

 

Time goes on like this, with Keith stopping by the window, holding eye contact with Lance, sometimes waving and exchanging smiles, but no chance to meet for real.

One day, Keith receives a transport request from his favorite boutique, with the Castle as the destination. Keith doesn’t think much of it—until he lands his airship and is greeted with the sight of Lance standing in front of the door, a bunch of fabric rolls and other materials packed away in bags by his feet, a basket for sewing supplies and tools in his hands. Keith notices that the pin cushion isn’t around his wrist.

Keith jumps out of the ship and steps up to Lance, asking, “Are you the one who called for a taxi to the Castle?”

Of course, the answer is obvious; but Keith has to keep protocol and find a way to start the conversation in one go.

Surprise is plain on Lance’s face when he sees Keith in front of him. But then, he smiles and says, “Yep! I didn’t expect for you to arrive so fast.”

Keith merely shrugs and replies, “We’re right around the corner, after all.” When he sees Lance trying to scramble for his materials, he says, “Wait, let me.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply as he picks up the bags and turns to securely store them away in the back of the ship. Then, he walks up to the passenger door and opens it, holding out his free arm in a gesture for Lance to step in. Lance smiles as he obliges. Keith watches, ready to help him climb in if need be, then closes the door before walking around to his pilot’s entrance. Once he’s back in his seat, he starts the engine and flies back into the sky.

For a moment, there’s silence, the gentle hum of the ship the only sound.

Then, Lance asks, “Is it part of regular customer service to treat your passengers like royalty?”

His tone is nonchalant, but there’s an edge of playfulness.

Keith glances to the side and replies with a half-smile, “We’re known for excellent customer service, but I might step up my game if it’s for a cute dressmaker in distress.”

“Oh, lucky me! _I’m_ a cute dressmaker, and I was in distress!” Lance’s tone remains playful and there’s a grin on his face, but Keith catches the edge of a blush. He focuses his gaze back on the flight route. “I knew by the uniform that you’re a taxi pilot, but I didn’t expect that you’d be the one to come pick me up. Today really must be my lucky day—an important commission from the princess herself, _and_ a cute taxi pilot flying me there.” He pauses. “So, what’s your name, hot stuff? I’m Lance.”

Instead of replying, Keith mirrors Lance’s conversation starter by throwing in, “Do you always call your pilot hot stuff?”

“Only if they’re as handsome as you are,” Lance replies. He repeats, “So, what’s your name?”

“I’m Keith. It’s nice to meet you, Lance.”

Finally, he has a chance to taste the name on his tongue. The flavor is even better than anything he imagined. He hopes he gets to taste it many more times in the future.

There isn’t much chance for their conversation to go on, as flights don’t take too long. When Keith lands at the Castle’s parking area, he turns to Lance to ask for the fee.

Lance pulls out the amount—rounded up to include a small tip.

He bats his eyelashes to the side before he gazes into Keith’s eyes and murmurs, “I’m afraid I don’t have enough change on me to tip for the _downright royal_ customer service… but maybe my number will be a suitable substitute?”

Keith blinks, taken aback for a moment. He clears his throat. “Uh, yeah, sure. That’s, that’s more than fine.”

Lance smiles as he hands over the money, including, Keith now notices, a slip of paper holding a phone number. Keith stashes the money away, then puts the paper into the breast pocket of his vest, directly above his heart. He gets out to help Lance out of the ship and help him gather his material.

Before they part ways, Keith puts his hand on Lance’s arm to hold him back.

At the puzzled gaze—Lance’s eyes truly are even more beautiful so close up—Keith murmurs, “I’m off work at six. I wouldn’t mind going out for dinner, you know. And, Lance? If you need a lift home later and request for Keith, you might just be lucky again.”

Lance is blinking at him with wide eyes. Keith doesn’t give him a chance to recollect himself and reply before he walks off with a smirk and a wave.

He has a feeling that he will have a dinner date tonight, and he can’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/crystalklances), [tumblr](https://crystalklances.tumblr.com) and [instagram](https://instagram.com/crystalklances) where you can find out about different ways you can support me!


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